Purpose

We conducted a randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of a cognitive rehabilitation (CR) intervention compared with a wait list (WL) control condition on cognitive complaints, neuropsychological and brain functioning in breast cancer survivors (BCS).

Methods

The small group intervention of five sessions included psychoeducation and cognitive exercises.

Eligibility

Disease-free BCS with cognitive complaints, diagnosed with stage I, II or III breast cancer, completed primary treatment 18 months to 5 years earlier. Neurocognitive test data and cognitive complaints on the Patient's Assessment of Own Functioning Inventory (PAOFI) were assessed at baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2), and 2 months later (T3). A subgroup of participants underwent resting state quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) at all three assessment time points.

Results

Forty-eight participants [mean age (SD) 53.8 (8.2)] completed T1 assessments, and 29 participants had analyzable qEEG data. The CR group improved significantly over time compared with the WL group on PAOFI total and memory scores (both p = .01) and on Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) total (trials I-V) (p = .02) and RAVLT delayed recall (p = .007) scores. On qEEG, the CR group showed a significant decrease in delta 'slow wave' power (p = .02) and an increase in the frontal distribution of alpha power (p = .04) from T1 to T2.

Conclusions

BCS in the CR group showed immediate and sustained improvements in self-reported cognitive complaints and memory functioning on neurocognitive testing. Results of the qEEG substudy provide some support for neurophysiological changes underlying the intervention. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.